When should last call be in Saratoga Springs?

Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen wasted no time in bringing up the smoldering issue of late-night drinking in the city’s downtown. In his first item at his first City Council meeting Tuesday, Mathiesen called recent violence and arrests in the Caroline Street area “a mess, a terrible problem that has damaged the reputation of Saratoga Springs.”

Mathiesen said 4 a.m. was too late for last call for alcohol. He said a lack of police downtown wasn’t the problem, and bar owners needed to take more responsibility for who they serve. “We really need to be sure we have safe streets 24 hours-a-day,” Mathiesen said. “We’re going to take this very seriously.”

The commissioner’s scheduled comments came after city resident David Bronner called the recent developments – alleged New Year’s morning stabbing, bar brawls, a bar employee assault – unacceptable. Bronner suggested the City Council recall a vote on making 2 a.m. – not 4 a.m. – last call at bars.

That 2010 vote, which would have closed bars at 2 a.m. from September to June, was called by Accounts Commissioner John Franck. It failed 2-2, with the mayor not voting. Several bar owners in the city opposed the idea.

Central NY is 2:00AM last call. Central NY has the same problems with bar brawls, bad news people, etc….

Changing last call time will not change the culture of young people who go out drinking. The same fight that happens at 3:30AM can just as easily happen at 1:30AM. It’s all about the crowd and the booze, not so much the time of day (night).

The same majority who can go out for a night of drinking and abide by the law, whether last call is 2 or 4, will behave themselves and head to Denny’s and have a good night. The bad apples always spoil the bunch.

The problem with the Bars is peoples’ behavior,closing them at 2am as opposed to 4am will do nothing to change peoples’behavior,just look at what goes on at SPAC during the summer and this is 8:00pm in the evening.Question:Why did someone get stabbed in the Metro Bar?,Last year someone got ran over on Caroline street and killed..what was the reason?,Two weeks ago a man was found lying unconscience outside another Bar,what caused that to happen? This will be a tough fix for anyone especially a politican who just took office,it might be wise to let the saloon keepers’fix this… they know the solution.

In Florida, last call means the tables are cleared and if you have a drink still sitting there, you lose it. If an SLA person comes in, not only the bar owner but the server is also fined. Want to guess how many will take that chance?

Mark my words: A 2 a.m. last call will only mean people getting drunker before that time and wilder house parties after that time. Go to New England cities like Providence or Boston and you will find positively no difference in the number of arrests or incidents stemming from alcohol, and they shut down around 1 a.m.

One of the reasons to close the bars at 2 am is so that police protection can be concentrated more during the open hours, which should also help control things. If you look at the statistics there are a lot of incidents between 2 and 4 am. Second, bar owners need to be arrested for serving patrons until they are visibly drunk. That is against the law and it is being ignored. A few repeat offender bars need to lose their licenses too. Third, bar owners should have to pay for extra security (professional, not bouncers).

My take on this is that the most vocal people in Saratoga Springs who are for the 2am vs 4am idea are those that live close to Caroline St. They are not getting a good nights sleep. They could care less about safety. I went to college at Oswego and we had a 2am last call. We just started drinking in the dorms earlier and went out earlier.

The problem is not what time last call is but rather the culture that has been created by irresponsible bar owners/staff. It is strictly their responsibilty to know when a customer has had too much to drink and cut them off. Correcting this behavior will yeild a better outcome than changing last call. Living in Miami Beach, we have been in the news as well over issues involving alcohol, parties and police that did not end well. In all these instances the common factor was misbehaving/unruly people that never intended on having a good time, but rather cause a rucus.

If people are getting seriously hurt and killed there is obviously something wrong. Simply saying it is a few bad apples is no solution. The situation will not change unless something different is done.

As to Ed Hanlon’s comment, those of us who live close to Caroline St. are aware that the HYPE of downtown has gotten worse over the last few years. The noise is awful which is creating a chaotic atmosphere.
This is leading to violence in a place where our inner city is trying to attract residents.

zyxw – it’s not that more people are getting hurt, it’s that a vocal minority wants this law to change and they’re highlighting the incidents when they do occur. Also, isn’t the law as it WAS proposed to only limit the bar hours during the off-season? If that’s the case, it seems to me nobody really cares about safety. They care about keeping tourists happy.

SaraT – Give us some evidence. Don’t just quote a story or two. Show me where downtown is getting worse. I spent many days downtown, and I can relate a few of my recollections. These instances occurred at all hours of the day, not just after 2 a.m. To say things are different or worse now than they were 10 years ago is to have a VERY short memory. And a myopic on at that.

I was using the loud music as an example of a cheapened atmosphere of downtown, especially the side streets on the east side. There are really nice outside dining facilities like Sperry’s and Pacific Grill. These didn’t exist 10 years ago. But dining there is hardly relaxing with the noisy bar atmosphere nearby.

Phil: How do you know it’s a “vocal minority?” No vote by the citizens of Saratoga has been taken. Instead, the only arguments I hear are that bar owners, many of whom don’t live in Saratoga, will lose revenue and some folks who like to get drunk at 3:30 am will not be able to do so. So, we sacrifice the quality of life of ordinary citizens so a few can make more profits? I would be that those Saratoga citizens complaining about noise, filth, and crime outnumber bar owners and the out of town drunks that seem to cause many of the problems, and yet those same citizens are being asked to pay taxes in order to support the increased and expensive overtime police presence required to keep things in check. It is a win-win for bar owners and a lose-lose for citizens.